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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was offering a recent product collection that seemed akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her local shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of both products look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to luxury products. They typically have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals say many dupes to high-end labels are good standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily more effective," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not all high-end skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the items based on high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also suggest shoppers do their research and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not just funding the brand and promotion - at times the elevated cost also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the research used to create the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's important considering how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they could include bulking agents that do not provide as many positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he added.

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For more complicated items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to more specialised companies.

The expert says these typically have been subjected to costly tests to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the label makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite studies done by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Components on the label of the container are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up